IT WAS QUITE A SIGHT. As John Williams’ theme to

It was quite a sight. As John Williams’ theme to “Star Wars” trumpeted through the air, a majestic fleet marched forwarded.

The Imperial Guard? Think even more imposing. Try a battalion of mothers with fully loaded strollers making their way into the Loews Boston Common Theater.

The mamas were making their way to a Tuesday morning session of Reel Moms, an event geared towards new moms and their babies. Once a week, Loews (now part of AMC Theaters) screens a new movie where crying babies aren’t only welcomed but almost required.

The theater lights aren’t dimmed completely and the bombastic sound system is held in check to accommodate little ones with sensitive ears. Moms are welcome to feed their babies and walk them through the aisles. And yes, there are changing tables available for when nature calls.

When my oldest son Jacob (now age 3) was an infant, I didn’t hear about Reel Moms (or any of the other similar programs, like National Amusements’ Baby Pictures) until he was too old to sit quietly through a film.

Last fall, when my Danny was born, I was determined I was going to get out to a show at least once with him while on maternity leave. Of course, the chaos that is my life meant otherwise, so I didn’t venture to the theater until I was back to work and it was time to write this column.

Valentine’s Day, we trekked into Boston to see “The Pink Panther.” As an entertainment experience, it was amusing – good if you’re in the mood for silliness. As a marketing experience, well, not so much.

I’d read of Reel Moms previous co-marketing promotions for brands such as Teletubbies and ABC Daytime. Sadly, nothing of the sort greeted us on Feb. 14. Perhaps this sort of thing is in stasis, until the program and Loews is fully integrated into the AMC chain.

But it seemed like such as wasted opportunity. I mean, c’mon, you’ve got 40 or so moms (and a few dads) out of the house and looking for some kind of stimulation. Give me a sample, a coupon, a demonstration – anything! I’m here, I’m ready!

And there’s no one better to count on for word-of-mouth advertising than a new mother. A lack of sleep turns our mental censors completely off. Heck, if we’ll babble about our kids’ diaper contents to anyone who will listen, we’ll most assuredly talk up your new product if we love it.

Judging by all the commercials run prior to films these days, it can’t be that the theater was averse to pushing products on paying customers, so what gives?

Reel Moms is a great way to fill seats on a slow weekday morning. I’m going to hope that the lackluster marketing sparkle at the screening I attended was just the coming attraction for bigger and better things to come after AMC gets the merger under control.

As for Danny, apparently he’s a Steve Martin fan. Even though it was his regular naptime, he woke up as we strolled in the theater and stayed happily awake through the entire movie, sitting quietly on my lap and taking in the sights and sounds of the film and the tots in adjacent seats.

And already, he’s learned the value of commerce and self-marketing. He waived getting a byline on this column for an ice cream cone (redeemable as soon as he can have solid foods) and an action figure to be named later.